Crowds enjoy inspirational theatre, bespoke stories and bee-keeping demo at Leamington EcoFest

More than 1500 people attended the fifth annual sustainability-themed summer festival at Pump Room Gardens on Saturday 31st August. A host of attractions included a dance and acrobatics show by physical theatre company RoguePlay, sets by local singers and bands, yoga and art sessions, a beekeeping demo, plus more than 40 stalls including energy advice, conservation and bike groups.

Aimée Scanlon from Leamington said, "We just stumbled across it... It's clever with music and food, you bring people in who don't necessarily know about climate change. I do live here, it's nice the town cares.”

Her friend Quinn Collins from Coventry said she sometimes feels overwhelmed and helpless about climate change, but to do her bit is “doing normal stuff, turning off all the lights. Another thing I'm doing more is reusing plastic bags. I used not to think about it. Now I use my Tesco bag until it falls apart". Scanlon says she now only buys second-hand clothes, unless she can’t find an item second-hand, and is going to smaller local shops for veg rather than driving to a supermarket.

Rebecca, who works in sustainability and lives in Kenilworth said: "There's a nice vibe to the event. I learned to sew.

"There’s lots of activities where kids can get involved. You can get kids to understand there are different things you can do to help the planet. I didn't have information like this when I was a child".

Mosaic, a cybersecurity engineer said: “I’ve just moved to the area. It’s a very good first impression”. Another attendee joked: “I'm the biggest capitalist ever! But… You have people here making such an effort, not for a financial reason”.

Councillor Lowell Williams, Portfolio Holder for Climate Change at Warwick District Council said: “There has never been a more important time for us all to look at making positive changes that will improve both our own and the planet’s health.

“EcoFest is designed for everyone. I encourage as many as possible to commit to at least one change they can make that will truly make a difference.”

‘Flash fiction’ writer Adam Holton had a crowd gathered around him as he composed stories on an old-fashioned typewriter inspired by just three words and a person’s name for his Found Out There performance.

“Each person brings something different to the situation, so I feel humbled by the curiosity of others” Holton said. “That curiosity is inspiring and calming for me.”

Holton’s approach to living sustainably, he says, is “Do what you can with what you've got and remember you do have a choice”.

In centrepiece show Forests, performers climbed and manipulated a weathered model tree, throwing, clambering on and trampling one another - before the tree was felled with an explosion of origami birds.

Kim Wildborne of RoguePlay, which created the show in collaboration with Rainforest Foundation UK, said it was about the impact of deforestation on indigenous people and inspired by growing understanding about ‘mother trees’ in the forest.

"We don't often hear so much about the people living in the rainforest once displaced - we're literally chopping their homes down,” Wildborne said.

Leamington-based theatre-maker Sioda Adams and fellow performers were in flower costumes as walkabout characters from Adams’s outdoor multimedia show For The Love of Stuff, part of her Earth-bound project.

"Our show leaves people with a sense of hope that we can do something about the climate crisis rather than feeling helpless,” Adams said. “That’s quite important for me”.

Adams has done outreach and co-creation work around the country with community groups including at the SYNDI Centre in Sydenham, Leamington. "We did a craft workshop with asylum seekers living nearby – we got them talking about what they want to change about the world and nature,” she said.

“Everything we do is trying to make a positive social and environmental impact. We’re making costumes and set ourselves from recycled materials or sourcing them from other theatre companies, charity shops and sustainable shops. We're working really hard to find ways of making climate action more normal”.

Since it first began in 2019, EcoFest has attracted more than 7,500 visitors and it has now become a staple part of Leamington’s events calendar.